Education, From The Capitol To The Classroom

Stories about students: How does education policy affect the way students learn and grow? Can schools meet their needs as they balance ramped-up testing with personal changes and busy schedules? And are students who need help getting it?

Stories about educators: How are those responsible for implementing education policy in schools − from classroom teachers, to district administrators, to school board members − affected by changes at the top? And how well do they meet their challenge of reaching students with varying abilities and needs?

Stories about school assessment: With an increased push for 'accountability' in schools, what can test scores tell us about teacher effectiveness and student learning − and what can't they tell us? What does the data say about how schools at all levels are performing?

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Stories about government influence: Who are the people and groups most instrumental in crafting education policy? What are their priorities and agendas? And how do they work together when they disagree?

Stories about money: How do local, state, and federal governments pay to support the education policies they craft? How do direct costs of going to school − from textbooks to tuition − hit a parent or student's bottom line? And how do changing budgets and funding formulas affect learning and teaching?

Indiana schools aren’t required to have formal policies on seclusion and restraint, but the families of students with special needs are urging state lawmakers to reconsider.

February 27, 2013

Legislation that passed the Indiana Senate this week would establish a Commission on Seclusion and Restraint to develop a model for handling students with challenging behavior. Join us to discuss proposed legislation on Noon Edition.

August 20, 2012

Can a tucked-in shirt or a handshake turn around a failing school? According to a series of articles this weekend in the Indianapolis Star, the new operators of four struggling Indianapolis Public Schools are using structure and discipline to communicate their expectations to students. Scott Elliott writes that at Arlington, which is now under the […]

August 16, 2012

It’s graduation day for 33-year-old prison inmate DJ Coomer at the Branchville Correctional Facility in Branchville, Ind. He’s wearing his beige prison uniform, not a graduation robe. He’ll have to hand over his diploma to the prison secretary before he leaves the graduation ceremony, and at the end of the day, he’ll still be in […]

August 6, 2012

Ohio limits the use of seclusion rooms in mental institutes and children’s residential facilities, but not in public schools, writes StateImpact Ohio‘s Molly Bloom and The Columbus Dispatch‘s Jennifer Smith Richards: Some teachers say that seclusion rooms are effective tools when used properly. No law governs seclusion rooms, and the Ohio Department of Education has provided little guidance […]